Gupta et al.
129
seller network reduces profitability (Figure 4, Panel D). To
avoid this situation, a seller could turn to integrators to increase
the level of centralization in-house, as brands such as Gillette
and Electrolux have done (Bartlett and Ghoshal 2003).
Combining a high centralized within-seller network with a
buyer–seller network with high similar function ties increases
profitability. Johnson Controls, for instance, staffs its account
teams with highly knowledgeable engineers (central actors)
who act as coordinators and interact fluently with Ford’s
(client’s) research-and-development personnel.
In summary, the combinations across the two networks that
can help KAM practitioners improve profitability are (1) align-
ing high within-seller centralization with either high buyer–
seller density or high similar function ties and (2) aligning high
similar function ties with high cross-functional ties. Firms
should avoid simultaneous high density in both the networks
because it hurts profitability.
Limitations, Further Research, and Conclusion
Our data portray buyer–seller and within-seller KAM networks
that had not yet been examined together. However, our cross-
sectional design is a limitation. Longitudinal data could reveal
changes in the KAM networks and their performance over
time, leading to stronger causal inferences. Newer theoretical
lenses, such as social affiliation theories, can be brought to bear
on this data, too. We collected the network data from individual
account managers, but future studies could gather full socio-
metric data from selling team members to provide a basis for
triangulating the account managers’ responses. The single
informants in our study are qualified, given their knowledge
and involvement in KAM decisions, but relying on single infor-
mants always raises common method concerns. We proactively
limited this bias in several ways, but future researchers might
gather firsthand access to company records and profitability
data, as well as obtain network data from multiple informants,
to increase the reliability.
In addition, we focus on buyer–seller and within-seller
KAM networks, but a third type of network also exists: the
within-buyer intrafirm network. We did not include it,
because in practice, selling firms lack direct knowledge of
interactions within the buyer firm. However, including the
within-buyer network could produce a more complete view
of the KAM process.
Finally, we focused on two-way interactions across net-
work attributes; additional two- and three-way interactions
involving these and various other contextual attributes are
also plausible. We conducted a post hoc analysis to specifi-
cally explore a few such higher-order interactions and find
limited support. Presence of such higher-order interactions
represents a fruitful avenue for future scholarship in the larger
area of sales, KAM, and CRM literature streams.
Our networks theory–based model explains variations in
account profitability across KAM teams. We show that the
network attributes across buyer–seller (interfirm) and within-
seller (intrafirm) KAM networks interact to influence the
seller’s account profitability. We also find that a purposive
alignment of these networks can improve KAM performance.
We thus hope our study proves useful for KAM managers and
provides an impetus for continued network-based research in
the B2B sales domain.
Area Editor
Christian Homburg served as area editor for this article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The first
author thanks the Institute for the Study of Business Markets at Smeal
College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, for funding
for this research and for a doctoral dissertation support award.
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